calgaryzombie.com Blog

Fall seems to be upon us, and my inbox is filling up already, so it seems like time to make an announcement here: there are no plans for a 2009 Dead Mile Zombie Walk.

This wasn’t an easy decision for me to make; the Dead Mile Zombie Walk is one of the biggest things I’ve been a part of, and I’m incredibly proud to have been able to make it happen and to help create something so many people enjoy. When I started the Calgary Zombie Walk on my Livejournal in 2005, I was honestly just hoping 30 or 40 people might show up. Seeing the numbers grow from around 300 that first year to almost 700 last year was truly amazing.

After four years, though, I feel that I’ve given this enough and it’s time for me to focus on other pursuits. The simple fact is, I do this pretty much all on my own, and it’s a big job for one guy to tackle. To be honest, this would probably have been my last year organizing the Dead Mile anyway; life circumstances are likely to be taking me away from the city for a while next summer, and keeping an event like this going from out of town is an impossibility.

The original plan for 2009 (and 2010) was to move the event from the usual date in October to late August and announce it in early July, giving people plenty of time to prepare. Maybe it’s my own fault for not making my intentions known earlier, but I hadn’t counted on a few impatient folks beating me to the draw and organizing/announcing their own summer zombie walk. In light of this year’s July event, I didn’t see the need to stage the same event again a month later. On top of that, the folks behind that event spread a lot of garbage about me on Facebook and email, and while it was fun to read about what an asshole I am, it certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.

For the record, I don’t make any money off of the Dead Mile. In fact, being pretty much the sole organizer of the event, I’ve payed a lot out of pocket to make this happen over the last four years. Dead Mile T-shirt sales last year brought in just about enough to cover the year’s web hosting and the cost of printing up posters and flyers, but on the whole I’ve invested a lot more into this than I had ever planned. While the Dead Mile was never about the money, at this point I can’t justify putting the money and time into it that I once did. I can’t express how thankful I am to everyone who bought a Dead Mile shirt last year, anyone who came out to our Miss Dead Calgary event in 2007, and to those who have donated here on the website.

I’ll always have a lot of great memories attached to the Dead Mile. You guys amazed me year after year with your enthusiasm for the event, inventive costumes, and your ability to set aside the day to day and just have fun for an afternoon. Most of all, nothing made me happier than to see people bring their kids down to Olympic Plaza for this; I’m honored that the Dead Mile was able to become a family event. For that, above all, I have to thank you.

Keep the brains fresh,
-Chris.

A couple of things going on in the local undead scene y’all might be interested in…

First up, Burning Moon Video and The Plaza Theatre are presenting a one-night only screening of Lucio Fulci’s rarely-seen 1980 film City of the Living Dead. It’s short notice, I know, but get yer carcass on down to The Plaza tomorrow night, February 5th, 9:30PM.

Location: The Plaza Theatre – 1133 Kensington Rd NW
Admission: $10

And next week, check out some zombie techno dance party action when Evil Nine take the stage at The Hi-Fi club. Touring in support of their new album, They Live! (possibly the world’s first full-length tencho record dedicated to the walking dead), Evil Nine stop by Calgary on Monday night (February 9th) to drop some rotting beats.

Location: The Hi-Fi Club – 219 10th Ave SW

A few quick things to make sure everyone – undead or otherwise – has a great time at the Dead Mile.

1. Respect the living. While yes, the living people walking around are the best source of fresh brains, keep in mind that they’re pretty uptight about getting covered in blood for some reason. Look, but don’t touch.

2. Keep to the sidewalks, and obey traffic signals. We don’t need any ‘zombie vs. truck’ scenes.

3. Try not to make too much of a mess. Window cleaning companies love the aftermath of a good zombie outbreak, but they’re about the only business in town that does.

4. The Dead Mile is, perhaps surprisingly, a family-friendly event… there will be kids and grown ups along for the shuffle, so keep this in mind while you’re on the walk. After all, the undead aren’t really known for drinking in the afternoon, using extreme profanity or otherwise acting like a pack of rowdy jackasses. Be cool, and maybe we can keep doing this in the years ahead.

So, where does this all go down, anyway? It’s a fairly simple route…

The outbreak sets out from Olympic Plaza shortly after meeting at 3:00PM, heading west along Stephen Ave to 4th Street SW. Turning left at 4th Street, the dead march south a few blocks to 17th Ave. The march continues west along 17th Ave (with a short stop to rest those dead-tired limbs at Tomkins Park) to 11th Street SW then heads north, finishing up at Millennium Park.

Dead Mile 2008 hits Calgary streets tomorrow! With less than 24 hours to go until the outbreak, take some time to familiarize yourself with the route as well as a few of the finer points of undead etiquette.

T-shirt pre-orders are still open in the Brain Shop. As of now we’ve got a few orders in, but still a ways short of what we need to go ahead with the minimum printing order for these things. If we don’t get enough orders we’ll have to scrap the whole idea (and mail out refunds for those who have ordered) but we’re still hoping enough folks out there get orders in over the next week or so to go ahead.

Keep the brains fresh, and see y’all when ya rise from yer groovy graves tomorrow!

The time is drawing near, Calgary… the 2008 Dead Mile Zombie Walk will be…

Pre-orders for the first-ever official Dead Mile t-shirts are NOW OPEN in our Brain Shop section! The shirts will be shipping in late October, with a limited run being printed to order, so you’ll want to be sure to reserve one in your size… and a few extra for family and friends… Christmas sneaks up quick.

What’re they going to look like? Something a little like this…

Horrifying video evidence of previous undead outbreaks on the streets Calgary!

The following footage provided by Mister Sable, who was lucky enough to escape the 2006 Dead Mile with his skin intact.

For the dead…

Dead End Days – a great online, serialized zombie comedy.
Zombie Costuming – tutorials and step-by-step makeup guides from Phillyburbs.com.
Zombie Walk – forums, bringing together undead fanatics from around the world.

For the living…

Terminal Hipster – Chris’ online comic strip, updated frighteningly infrequently.

Make-up tips for the fashion conscious zombie.

Yes, you do have to dress like a zombie. Those who do not do so are welcome, but risk having their brains eaten by confused zombies. You have to admit – they’re not all that smart, but they know a good living brain when they smell it.

Potentially useful things to keep in mind:

Causes of zombie-ness:

As everyone knows – or should know – zombies are usually attributable to one or more of the following:

- voodoo
- science gone astray – chemical or biological accidents, experiments, viruses and the like
- the apocalypse

Of course, there are many more possibilties. Be creative. Corpses in all stages of decay are encouraged.

For the low-budget zombie:

- Oatmeal and liquid latex works wonders.
- Food colouring and corn syrup makes convincing blood, but sticky. However, also delicious.
- Bloody entrails can be easily made by stuffing pantyhose with old sweatsocks, then soaking the whole thing in a bowl of fake blood.
- Value Village – but I’m sure it’s hardly necessary to mention that. I’ve heard that burying your clothes in the backyard for a week or two can help them look (and smell) extra zombie filthy.

August 2008 already? My stars, where does the time go? Anyway, as you’ll note, things look a little different here; the long-delayed site update is taking shape and, no doubt more importantly to you all, plans are shaping up for the Calgary’s 2008 Dead Mile Zombie Walk this fall! Full details will be posted soon, and I promise you’ll have plenty of time to get your deadliest costumes together before the big day.

Check back over the next couple of weeks for more news and details, and cool stuff that’ll be added on here as this new work-in-progress site takes shape.